Life on the farm is kinda laid back...

... but not always... for the 2nd time since I moved here we had the fire department as visitors... Now that doesn't sound so good does it? I'm telling you, I think I moved in next to a bunch of pyros.... Just kidding... really... they are not any more pyro than I ;), but man, what a night we Wednesday night was...

All settled in and basically sound asleep, the dang dog kept waking me & disturbing my pup with her incessant barking.... what is with that dog anyway? Ok... back to sleep only to be shaken from my doze by somebody's vehicle horn honking repeatedly... WTH!!! It's 1:30 in the morning, my neighbour's are pretty good guys & I doubt it's them so my first thought, my truck alarm was somehow set off by the dog (I've never actually heard it yet... a good thing I think). But I mean really, I live in the middle of no where, it's not like downtown Calgary with horns blaring at other drivers regardless of the hour, this is not a common sound to hear out here at all... jig brakes, yes, loads of coyotes, yes, vehicle horns, not so much.

So up out of bed, shushing the pup to settle her back down. I look out the bedroom window at the neighbour's dog running amok and barking her head off... WHAT is her problem?!? Moving to the living room to afford a better view of the front yard, yet I still can't see anything amiss besides this crazy dog...


Heading back to my bedroom I take a quick glance out the kitchen window toward the corral & beyond that, where my neighbour's mobile home is situated...


OMGOSH!!!!!! FIRE!!!!!
"BRAT!!! GET UP!!!THE NEIGHBOUR'S PLACE IS ON FIRE!!! "



I quickly grabbed the phone and dialed 911, snatching a hoody off my bed and donned that while calling emergency services... "Thank you for calling 911... Fire, Police or Ambulance?"... "FIRE!", "Please hold while I transfer your call"... Ughhhh HOLD?... 911 and I'm on hold!!! Ok, it wasn't long but yikes... The adrenaline is rushing now and I can barely slow down my speech well enough to coherently relay my location the Fire Department as well as the nature of the emergency...

Phone in hand I managed to get my boots on, coat on, gloves on, toque and even grab a camera... still on the phone I ran out of the house and ran past the north side of the corral and came around the corner to this...


Holy mega bonfire batman! Where earlier today my neighbours shed & shop stood there is little left but rubble and metal. The fellow from Alberta Highway Services that spotted the fire met me at this point, both of us on our phones with the fire department. After pounding on my neighbour's door he had finally woken "B, my neighbour's brother and the only one home at the time. He came around the corner of the mobile in obvious shock as to what was happening.

BTW, as both of us were woken from a dead sleep by B's rescuer, we were each clad in winter wear... and pyjama pants... plaid flannel for B, lovely baby pink fleece with cartoonish reindeer for me... do we care? Not one whit... lol!

Can you see the wheels on the left in the photo above? That's the front end of another brother's quad...


This is the skeletal remains of a baker's rack he was letting me have (damn procrastinating)...


Finally the fire department has arrived (we are a good distance from town)...



Three fire department vehicles and the town EMS were on scene...


Getting it under control...


The smoke and steam nearly obscure the fire fighters from our sight as they work...



The pumper truck shines a large spotlight on the area, it's brilliance nearly feels like daylight...


The crazy dog now thinks she's a fire dog, they can't have her, she saved B's life with her barking...


The fire fighters are impressively thorough, flipping over the remains of twisted hunks of metal, large appliances and what is left of the garden shed floor to drown any coals in water and fire suppression foam...


Approximately 3:00 am: The fire is finally out, B has returned to bed as he drives out at 4 am for a long day on the roads. The town fire team is packing up after saving the day...


Before: The shop with the stove pipe sticking out of the roof sits just behind my horse , beyond that is the garden shed...


This is where they once stood, not much more than a scar left on the ground...


I think this was his workout bench, twisted from the heat of the fire...


The quad: Isn't it odd how it affected everything on it except in front of the handles...


On the left is the shop door, only the metal exoskeleton remains, the core is completely gone. The square container on the left is the metal housing of a dishwasher that was awaiting installation in their home...


On the left here is an old fridge I had given them from my house in town, it was outside of the shop. On the right is actually a deep freezer...


You can see how close to their home the fire was, and despite the heavy winds of the night, there is no damage. An amazing miracle as the siding is wood. The fellow that raised the alarm could not put his hand on the wall during the worst of the fire as the mobile wall was too hot...


The corral fence lit on fire too, but seems to have sustained little sturctural damage and only surface scarring for the most part. Throughout the fiery ordeal I kept a halter & rope in hand in case I needed to quickly remove my horse. Fortunately the corral is a good size and she was able to stay a good distance from the fire...


The remains of either the garden shed floor or a wall from either the shed or the shop. Only this, a few large beams and anything made of thicker metal remain...


All in all, a rather exciting, yet scary night... the suspected cause: a brooder lamp left hanging over an old couch. It was set on a timer to heat a small area late at night for the comfort of the cats. It was the only electric item plugged in and the wood stove had not been in use for quite some time.

Setbacks and Perseverance

What an eventful week this has been. Over the weekend I made some major life decisions that I’m freaked out about very proud of and looking forward to with great excitement and eagerness. I’ll share more of that after I get settled, once the move is over and the new plans are set in motion.

Starting this week out on Sunday with great dread terror anxiety anticipation of preparing for “The Great Migration” on the coming Saturday, we dug right in and attacked the upstairs with a whirlwind of packing. Finally feeling like we were getting somewhere by Monday I was excited to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

And then… Monday evening the throat starts to ache, then hurt, then burn and I dared to take a peek at it and OMG! No!!!! Spots!!! That’s ok, we can deal with this, no big deal. Take some Cold F/X, top up the vitamin C, can’t be strep, just finished antibiotics for strep last week for crying out loud. S’All good. We can do this, I’m a tough biotch!!! No stupid sore throat can bring me down!!! Besides I’ve only got four days until “The Great Migration”. I am woman, hear me Roar!!!

Tuesday morning, as I slowly drag my lazy butt cheerfully bounce out of bed, I think to myself, ‘what’s that I feel? Severe pain in the left tonsil area? Nope, can’t be’. I can ignore that, no problem. Body aching like someone beat me with a baseball bat, I can ignore that too. S’All good. We’ll just pop into town, grab some natural antibiotics… don’t want to be on pharmaceutical ones again too soon. And this shall all clear up no problem, right? Long story short… Wednesday morning I end up in ER with a tennis ball implanted in the left side of my throat and sunk down the side of my neck. The result of which left me so weak that standing for any period of time was difficult at best. Some good strong antibiotics combined with the natural ones (in theory anyway) and the improvement in the pain dept anyway was already noticeable by Thursday afternoon. Lock jaw on the other hand continues to ensure that my waist line keeps shrinking… who’s complaining? Not I **wink**… LOL!

The week for packing was definitely short lived and completely shot out of the water after Monday though. By Tuesday afternoon I knew there was no way on God’s green earth I was going to be able to get the house ready for “The Great Migration” on Saturday, never mind the buyer’s possession date of April 1^st. So with great frustration I call my Realtor and great friend and whisper rasp request a change of possession by one week. But in the words of the dear Scarlett O'Hara, "After all... tomorrow is another day."

In the midst of all this an insufferable obnoxious user old roommate* showed up looking for belongings from my trailer and my storage unit. She gave me no notice, just called and said, ‘hi I’m here I want my things’; Expecting me to jump for joy at her arrival, rushing to do her bidding with expressions of elation. Now remember I’m quite ill and can barely take care of my own family right now, never mind moving furniture and boxes unrelated to my own move. I did manage to put her off for most of the week, however with her cunning ability to twist reality she convince the storage unit owner to cut the lock on Friday. At this point I was ready to rush off and hide at a friend’s house to avoid her invading my home as well, but decided it was time to rid myself of the unwanted human clutter in my life. I was feeling much stronger and with a clenched grin I finally bid the obnoxious abuser old chum and her rubbish cast-offs junk furniture and other items stored in my home and storage unit, a finale adieu.

On a sad note, this same Friday brought some sad news for a very good friend that has already gone through more than a person should have to over the past few months. While still away from her home at her favourite grandmother’s funeral she received news that her home had burned down. The blessing is that no one was hurt in the blaze, most of the family was away at the time and the two that were home that night got out in time. My heart goes out to them as they begin the rebuilding of not just their house and home but their lives in the midst of already grieving for the loss of their beloved grandmother. Chris, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family constantly. Despite the physical distance, I will be doing whatever I can to help from here. God bless you my dear friend, I admire your strength, perseverance and courage, I love you.

Blessings to all, may Angels Watch Over You!!!

*This is a long story going on over a period since late 2006 that I shall not bore you with. However suffice to say that I have never been so badly hurt or so poorly used by someone that called me a friend. Let me rephrase that, at least not since junior high school!!!! Considering I am now 39 and although like to joke about not being grown up, still consider myself fairly mature, but this woman is more than 11 years my senior!!! Go figure... live and learn!